Buying a Used Hensley Hitch - 3 things you need to know

So you bought (or are thinking about buying) a used Hensley Hitch? Not surprising. After almost 30 years in business, there are tens of thousands of Hensley Arrows or Cubs that are on their second or third owners. After all, the Hensley hitch is designed to last a lifetime…and more.

Be sure you have the right parts for your Hensley Hitch

While the main unit of your used Hensley Hitch is perfectly fine for your tow-vehicle/trailer combination, there are some variations on several components:

• Frame Brackets
• Hitch Bar
• Spring Bars

Hensley Frame Brackets

Because trailer manufacturers utilize three different coupler configurations (A, B, and C type), which essentially change the coupler height relative to the frame, Hensley has three different frame bracket configurations. This is to ensure that your strut bars are aligned horizontally with the frame. The coupler types on your travel trailer:

Type “B” is the most common, but check yours and make a note of it.

Hensley Hitch Bars

Hensley uses one-piece, non-adjustable, hitch bars. Hensley uses solid steel for the Hensley Arrow and hollow steel for the Hensley Cub (for smaller trailers). The offsets range from a straight bar to 8 inches:

To determine the correct offset you need for your trailer/tow-vehicle combination, refer to the image below:

This image is from our owner’s manual, which you can refer to here. You’ll want these two measurements when you call one of our Hensley towing specialists.

Essentially, this is all you need to check with your used Hensley Arrow or Cub hitch, but there is one more option, the spring bars.

Hensley Hitch Spring Bars

Hensley offers several spring bar “weights”: 600, 1000, and 1400 lbs. Most customers use the 1000 lb. Very seldom is the 1400 lb. required. You don’t size a spring bar based on tongue weight. Just how much weight you’d like to transfer from the rear to the front of the tow vehicle (hint: you don’t need to transfer all of it).

Most of the time, you should be fine with the spring bars that came with your used Hensley Hitch. Occasionally, someone gets a pair of 600 lb. spring bars that may not have enough spring force to transfer the weight required.

Give Hensley a call

With the above information in hand, give our towing specialists a call at 1-800-410-6580. It’s also good to note the serial number of your used Hensley Arrow or Cub hitch. We keep a complete history of every Hensley Hitch sold and can let you know if there are any concerns with your used Hensley Hitch.